Beck was a 20th century human man who served in the United States Armed Forces during the 1940s decade.
Biography
On 5 December 1945, Beck and Johnson flew aboard one of five TBF Avenger aircraft as part of the Flight 19 training squadron on a pre-planned route from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the Bahamas and back. About 90 minutes into the mission, when they were in the Bermuda Triangle, flight leader Lieutenant Charles Taylor radioed that the group had gotten lost. The squadron disappeared, having been seized by a wormhole and brought to the planet Alin. Four of the five pilots managed to land. However, the plane containing Beck and Johnson was nowhere to be found. Taylor recorded their losses in his flight log.
In 2371, when the surviving Avenger aircraft were found on Alin, Starfleet awarded Beck and his Flight 19 crewmates the Federation Cross. (TNG - Strange New Worlds IV short story: "Flight 19")
Appendices
Background
In the real-world Flight 19, their one plane with only two crewmen was piloted by Marine Corps 2nd lieutenant James Gerber, with Marine Corps Private First Class William Lightfoot serving as gunner and radioman. Corporal Allan Kosnar would have been the third member of their crew, but he had been excused and did not fly that day.
